"Since when did Calimport grow all of these trees and grass?"
asked Rouric as he scanned the area.

"This is not Calimport," Entreri said with a hiss. He
glared at Olive, who was closely examining the area around them.

"Storm's teleportation spell should have worked," she
said, looking at the assassin as she crossed her arms. "The
only thing I can think of is that Mystra, or some other god,
intervened and sent us here for a reason."

Entreri shook his head. "Maybe we should have traveled with
Florin Falconhand," he muttered as he walked away.

Ignoring the female halfling's assessment and the assassin's
comment, Bowie closed his eyes, humming a short ballad as he released
a Lore spell.

When the spell was complete, he opened his eyes and said with a
worried expression on his face," We're somewhere in the middle
of the Western Heartlands."

Rouric was about to ask where they were in the Heartlands, when an
echo of screams, followed by roars filled their ears.

I
admit that I have quite of explaining to do. So before you begin
your discussion on "What should be done with this Blackstaff"
I'll try and clear the air.

For
those who thought the fight scenes were too quick, remember there are
a group of 7 characters going up against gargoyles and a couple of
beholders (not to mention all of those characters possess powerful
magical items...its like Undermountain all over again).

First,
I know the whole, Val/Fey and Roland/Willow seemed kind of quick and
spur of the moment, but remember they're all pretty young and naive
(especially the two male Harpers) In all retrospect, the character
of Val was based off of a character my friend Tom played, and let me
just say that Val Cycloveer (Tom's character) had plenty of love
interests since the age of twelve. As far as Val's animosity towards
Tessaril...when I personally learned that Azoun was notorious for
sleeping around, I wasn't mad or appalled, but I was surprised to
find that no one seemed too traumatized by it. Rest assured that Val
(and Roland for that matter) have all the respect in the world for
Cormyr and it's king...they just like being rebellious and sharing
their feelings.

Next
there's the whole thing about Artemis Entreri being a Harper. Yes he
is a member, though he more and likely won't be given a full blown
ceremony like others. His "induction" was actually similar
to Olive's when she was given the pin by Finder Wyrvenspur. Although
it may seem that Entreri would be unfitting to be a Harper, I'll just
say that after reading his entry in the Forgotten Realms Campaign
Setting, I believe that he has all the makings of a Harper, save the
fact that he doesn't like playing musical instruments. This doesn't
mean that he'll end up being a good guy, or that Bowie will try and
turn him good. That decision is left up to Artemis Entreri. I'm
also leaving the tension between him and Storm up in the air…This
is kind of going with that whole Drizzt and Artemis being equal
again, but compared to Drizzt's meeting with Alustriel, Entreri's
meeting with the Bard of Shadowdale was much much different.

Also,
for those who might be upset about Bowie's remark that he would
"piss" on Regis Rumblebelly, I'll try and do what I can to
defend myself. Part of Bowie's statement was to humor the assassin
(which it most certainly did) but Bowie meant what he said. When I
write fan fiction, I never try and have my characters be stronger or
have an edge over infamous Realms characters unless it's for a good
reason, nor do I try and belittle famous heroes of the Forgotten
Realms (except for characters like Mirt the Moneylender and
Vangerdahast...they're just too fun to pick on sometimes). If
anyone thinks that Bowie is along the lines of a Mary Sue, then that
wasn't my intent. Bowie Butterball bleeds like everyone else and has
his obsessions like any other man. He will admit that his revenge
for Manshoon is a driving force in his life, but that being a Harper
and a teacher has also given him new meaning...which is part of the
reason Bowie invited Entreri to join the Harpers. If Bowie was the
perfect example of a Harper, he wouldn't have invited Entreri into
the organization, nor defied the authority like his pupils Roland and
Val. I will say that the actions of bringing an "evil"
character like Artemis Entreri into the Harpers will come back and
bite Bowie on the ass, as well as the actions of his fellow students.

So
yes in a fight, Bowie would whoop Regis, but that doesn't mean I'll
ever write such a scene.

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.